The present disclosure generally relates to a pressure pulsation dampener with a check valve and a compressor system including a pressure pulsation dampener with a check valve. Pressure pulsations that may occur in a working fluid exiting a compressor, for example, may have a relatively large amplitude and may cause damage to downstream piping components and may cause relatively extreme noise levels. For instance, a typical oil-free compressor rated for 105 psi gage may have a dynamic pressure at the discharge of the compressor from 90 psig to 120 psig at a frequency related to the port passing frequency. The port passing frequency represents the number of times the compressor discharge port is opened to allow compressed air to exit the compressor. These pulsations begin at the discharge of the compressor and migrate downstream through the entire piping system.
Some check valves may not be suitable for effective long-term use at the outlet of certain compressors and they also may be susceptible to flow induced vibration. Pressure pulsations may repeatedly impact a check valve plunger causing excessive vibration and stress that may result in failures.
Compressor machinery manufacturers may design pulsation suppression devices using traditional muffler style designs. Some pressure pulsation dampener designs may contain components traditionally found in mufflers and exhaust systems. Some dampener designs may include components such as choke tubes, orifice plates, branch tubes and Helmholtz resonators, absorptive linings, and/or perforated tubes. Muffler systems may be designed by acousticians using acoustic principles founded on solutions to the wave equation. In many muffler designs, it is assumed that the pressure pulsations propagate as an acoustic wave that travels at the speed of sound. The propagation of an acoustic wave is defined as the transport of energy through the compression and expansion of the molecules in the media in which the acoustic wave propagates. An acoustic wave propagates at the speed of sound and for air at room temperature the speed is around 341 m/sec.
Some existing systems have various shortcomings, drawbacks, and disadvantages relative to certain applications. Accordingly, there remains a need for further contributions in this area of technology.